When it comes to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, you may have heard the rumours, but now the evidence is here.

The crew of Switzerland have saved two more lives on behalf of Mercy Ships, their official charity, after getting naked while sailing across the cold Pacific Ocean to raise money.

The entire Leg 6 crew took off their clothes in good taste and for a good cause during the ocean crossing trip, gaining two more life-saving pennants, taking the collection up to 17 in the entire race so far.

A shout out for donations saw $3790 raised over Leg 6 after the crew decided to do the photoshoot.

Two naked pictures were revealed at the Race 11 crew brief in San Francisco today, and further images are on the official Clipper Race Facebook page and the Switzerland official Facebook page.

Vicky Ellis, the skipper of Switzerland, said: 'There were a number of quite creative and certainly some very daring shots taken, and some feats I'm sure will never be repeated on a Clipper 70 again! As skipper I am required to be on deck for certain activities but I don't have to have my eyes open and I was quite glad on a few occasions!'

The Switzerland crew raise money and awareness for hospital ship charity Mercy Ships as they go round the world with various fundraising ideas.